Australia Understands Parole

While ParoleNow.com is really a website focused on parole in the United States, with the seemingly consistent court and politician inclination toward “lock ’em up and keep ’em there” we do want to comment on a parole system that seems to be working correctly, Australia.

As reported in the Herald Sun, up to 90 % of prisoners are paroled on the earliest possible parole date. The general manager of the Parole Board, David Provan, condirmed that 85-90 % of the prisoners paroled in 2010-2011 were released at their earliest date of eligibility.

Mr. Provan addressed the prisoners who were not released on this date by stating those prisoners fell into three main groups:

1) Serious sex offenders who had not completed their treatment programs;

2) Prisoners who were problems while incarcerated or were considered an unaccepable risk; and

3) Those prisoners who were not willing to be bound by parole conditions on release.

Australia obviously believes that the their prison system is able to rehabilitate the offenders, as opposed to what seems to be the prevailing view in the U.S., that prisons are designed to punish only.